Written questions by Norris.

Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to protect supported housing in NE Somerset and Hanham constituency.

The government is committed to improving the quality of supported housing across England. We are implementing measures in the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023, which will strengthen local oversight, improve quality of support and require councils to produce Local Supported Housing Strategies to understand local supply, demand and unmet need. We recognise the significant challenges faced by the supported housing and homelessness sector. As announced at Autumn Budget 2025, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury is leading work across government to improve the value for money of homelessness services, including delivery models to increase the supply of good‑quality, good‑value supported housing.

Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle the causes of homelessness in North East Somerset and Hanham constituency.

Through our National Plan to End Homelessness the Government is putting prevention at the heart of public services, alongside with actions to address the root causes of homelessness through building more homes, reforming renters’ rights, and tackling poverty. Local councils are at the front line of the response to homelessness and must lead the way in putting prevention at the core of their services. The Government has increased funding for homelessness services this year to over £1 billion, including a £50 million top-up to the Homelessness Prevention Grant announced on 11 December 2025. You can find allocations here. We are also investing £3.5 billion in homelessness and rough sleeping services over the next three years, through more flexible multi-year funding arrangements that enable councils to invest more in prevention.

Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to reduce levels of rough sleeping.

The government has increased funding for homelessness services by £316 million to a total of more than £1 billion this year to prevent rises in the number of families in temporary accommodation and help to prevent rough sleeping. This includes an additional £69.9 million announced last month for the Rough Sleeping Prevention and Recovery Grant, taking total investment through this grant to more than £255 million this year. We will publish our cross-Government homelessness strategy later this year which will set out the actions needed across central and local government and the homelessness sector to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping.

Communities and Local Government, what progress he is making in supporting local authorities to build social housing in North East Somerset and Hanham constituency.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 58440 on 17 June, the Written Ministerial Statement made on 2 July (HCWS771), and the Social and Affordable Homes Programme policy statement published on 7 November which can be found on gov.uk here.

Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to improve levels of community (a) involvement and (b) engagement in planning processes.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Questions UIN 58236 on 17 June 2025 and UIN 72839 on 15 September 2025.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to ensure adequate funding for the repair of council housing stock North East Somerset and Hanham constituency.

I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 2 July 2025 (HCWS771).

Communities and Local Government, what recent progress her Department has made on reform of the leasehold system.

The government took swift action in the early months of the Parliament to implement provisions in the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 relating to rent charge arrears, building safety legal costs and the work of professional insolvency practitioners.On 31 October 2024, the government commenced further building safety measures.On 31 January 2025, provisions to remove the two-year qualifying rule in relation to enfranchisement and lease extensions came into force.On 3 March 2025, the right to manage provisions (expanding access, reforming its costs, and voting rights) came into force and we published the Commonhold White Paper, which is a crucial first step in ensuring commonhold becomes the default tenure for flats.On 4 July 2025, we published a consultation on Strengthening Leaseholder Protections for charges and services. It can be found on gov.uk here. It can be found on gov.uk here. The consultation seeks views on how to implement the relevant measures in the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024, and includes proposals to extend aspects of it to social housing tenants.We will publish an ambitious draft Leasehold and Commonhold reform Bill later this year.For an overview of the government’s approach to leasehold and commonhold reform, I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 21 November 2024 (HCWS244).

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to help support first time buyers in North East Somerset and Hanham constituency.

The affordability challenges facing prospective first-time buyers mean that too many people are now locked out of homeownership. This government is determined to change that, ensuring that young families and hardworking renters can buy a home of their own. Boosting the supply of homes of all tenures must be at the heart of any strategy to improve housing affordability which is why the government’s Plan for Change includes a hugely ambitious milestone of building 1.5 million safe and decent homes in England in this Parliament. In addition to increasing the supply of homes of all tenures, in July, the government will launch a new, permanent Mortgage Guarantee Scheme which will help to support and sustain availability of low deposit mortgage products, helping prospective buyers with a deposit as small as 5% to own a home.